To Tie Or Not To Tie?

Dizzyblonde

When I'm roasting a chicken I throw it into the oven with its legs akimbo. However I've realised recently that some people tie the legs together to keep the legs snug to the chicken.

So, do you tie - and if so does the chicken take a lot longer to cook? Does it make for more succulent legs?

Dial Hard

Untied. How do you get the lemon and herbs into the cavity otherwise?!

PARlance

Never tied myself, not sure it would add to the cook time, rather it might just stop the legs from overcooking compared to the rest?

PARlance

Dial Hard wrote: »

Untied. How do you get the lemon and herbs into the cavity otherwise?!

You would tie after inserting?

Dial Hard

PARlance wrote: »

You would tie after inserting?

That seems like a pointless repetition of work for very little value-add that I can see, considering I've already cut the tie that came on the chicken in the first place.

Dial Hard

I'll give yis a laugh, my sister's partner was making a chicken pot roast recipe of mine the other day. She spotted him with a big knife cutting a hole in the front of the chicken and was like "What are you doing?" and he goes "I'm cutting a hole to put the lemon in". She howled laughing.

Mystery Egg

I do not tie. I find you get much more crispy skin that way (rather than flabby, gag)!

igCorcaigh

Oliver Dunne recommends pulling the legs away from the body to decrease cooking time.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKPMpipA-so/?igshid=1qvu901xi0hl5

And no fancy salt needed when cooking! Only for finishing. Table salt for cooking.

the beer revolu

Mystery Egg wrote: »

I do not tie. I find you get much more crispy skin that way (rather than flabby, gag)!

This.
I deliberated much over this, I think I may have even had a thread here on it and the crispy skin is better, untied.

I actually can't find any logical reason to truss at all. Legs take longer to cook than the breast - you want to cook faster.

I think it's just that a trussed chicken looks neater and more like what we have been conditioned to expect a roast chicken to look like.

I go one further now and use an upright roaster. Crispy skin even on the bottom and I can cook a medium chicken in around 35 - 40 minutes in a hot oven.

#FreeTheLegs

Faith

the beer revolu wrote: »

I go one further now and use an upright roaster. Crispy skin even on the bottom and I can cook a medium chicken in around 35 - 40 minutes in a hot oven.

#FreeTheLegs

Tell me more. This sounds like an all-round winner.

Dizzyblonde

Well that's all very reassuring - I was beginning to think I'd been doing it the wrong way for decades :pac:

I couldn't stand flabby skin either, and I'd imagine it would take a lot longer to cook so by the time the legs and thighs were done the breasts would be sawdust.

the beer revolu

Faith wrote: »

Tell me more. This sounds like an all-round winner.

Haven't read the article but this is like my yoke.

https://images.app.goo.gl/KDa5c5bS1DK3ARNi6

Comerman

the beer revolu wrote: »

Haven't read the article but this is like my yoke.

https://images.app.goo.gl/KDa5c5bS1DK3ARNi6

Just use a beer can

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/sweet-spicy-beer-can-chicken/

the beer revolu

Comerman wrote: »

Just use a beer can

https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/sweet-spicy-beer-can-chicken/

No.
This is putting a big cold thermal mass into the chicken, slowing down the cooking and, it turns out, that the beer doesn't even steam and do anything.
It's like the opposite of what I am doing which directs the heat into the inside of the chicken, sorry.

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/beer-can-chicken-is-a-hoax-article

Comerman

the beer revolu wrote: »

No.
This is putting a big cold thermal mass into the chicken, slowing down the cooking and, it turns out, that the beer doesn't even steam and do anything.
It's like the opposite of what I am doing which directs the heat into the inside of the chicken, sorry.

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/beer-can-chicken-is-a-hoax-article

I have and honestly use the gadget like yours beer revolu and it's great.
I never considered cold thermal mass when I was shoving the can up its ass :-))

trashcan

Spatchcock the chicken.

the beer revolu

trashcan wrote: »

Spatchcock the chicken.

Also good for speed and crispy skin.

I find chicken cooks better if you spatchcock the "wrong way". I cut through the breast bone and spread it out that way. Ends up with the legs in the middle and each breast at the edges.

Gloomtastic!

the beer revolu wrote: »

Also good for speed and crispy skin.

I find chicken cooks better if you spatchcock the "wrong way". I cut through the breast bone and spread it out that way. Ends up with the legs in the middle and each breast at the edges.

Is there anything you do tbr that is the same as someone else?

the beer revolu

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Is there anything you do tbr that is the same as someone else?

Are you calling me contraaaaary?

Mystery Egg

the beer revolu wrote: »

Are you calling me contraaaaary?

That's the word :pac:

the beer revolu

Mystery Egg wrote: »

That's the word :pac:

I love it.
Very useful and that pronunciation has a particular meaning. Usually preceeded by, fierce.
Makes me think of my dad.